MAR 2010

Buena Borough Municipal Authority has picked the right land for a new $4.6 million wastewater discharge system.

Pinelands Municipal Council installed new officers for the year: Chairman, Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello; Vice Chairman, Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky; Secretary, Berkeley Planning Board Chairman Anthony Mazzella; Treasurer, Egg Harbor City Mayor Joseph A. Kuehner; and member at large, Tabernacle Township Committeeman Richard Franzen.

BRIDGETON - The U.S. Census Bureau is behind in the number of part-time employees it needs in Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic counties to properly conduct its 2010 survey, a census recorder said.

Al Dashevsky, of the Census office in Northfield, spoke before a group of community leaders Monday in Bridgeton about the census and the need for more employees.

Interest is high, he said, but applicants have failed to come through in some areas by showing up to tests or responding to correspondence.

The Census Bureau needs workers to go to the homes of those who have not filled out and sent back the census forms they received in the mail. To get an accurate count for the census, teams of temporary employees roam neighborhoods asking residents for relevant information.

Dashevsky said the bureau will hire about 10,000 part-time employees in the three counties to spend about eight weeks collecting data. Most of the work is done on nights and weekends, and workers are able to submit their own schedules of availability, he said. Pay is $15 per hour, and Dashevsky said the bureau has found at least enough workers to canvass Vineland and Millville.

Bridgeton, however, still needs about 50 more employees to help conduct surveys.

"We need to accomplish this fairly shortly," Dashevsky said. "We're running a bit late as it is."

It would have been nice, he said, if he had the opportunity to meet with community leaders and to get the word out about the jobs sooner, but the employee shortfall is partly the result of people backing out.

Dashevsky said one of his stops was at Cumberland County College. Despite offering what he feels is a pretty good deal, the recruiting drive at the school yielded just 75 applications.

Overall, hundreds of people have signed up but have not showed up for the simple 28-question test. Those who are eligible to work and pass a background test, which is considered on a case-by-case basis, need only get 10 of the 28 questions right to work for the Census Bureau.

Al Kelly, president of Tri-County Community Action Partnership, said this is a chance for those struggling to find work to get out there, at least for the short term, and make some money.

"We've been talking about jobs, jobs, jobs for the past few years," he said. "Here's our chance to get a few part-time jobs for the people who need them most."

Those interested in applying for a part-time position with the census bureau should call 866-861-2010 or visit www.2010censusjobs.gov.

For more than a month, staff in Trenton's Statehouse have anticipated Gov. Chris Christie's maiden budget.

But as Tuesday's big announcement came and went, at least one local mayor was left feeling bamboozled.

"I don't really know why the administration would say one thing, then do the opposite," Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said of his beef with the governor's budget plan, which seeks to slash state spending by about $3 billion.

Chiarello's complaint is not that municipalities such as his will face cuts in their state assistance. Like many other mayors, Chiarello expected the bad news, and he cut $150,000 from the township's expenses in late 2009.

What confuses him, he said, is that he attended an administration briefing the day before Christie's address, where he and other local leaders were told one sort of aid would be held harmless.

"They told us the energy-tax receipts would not be touched," Chiarello said Friday, referring to payments originally made by gas and electric companies who ran power lines across valuable municipal land. "They promised us that."

Seeing the aid figures Thursday, Chiarello said he immediately saw that promise had not been kept.

In Buena Vista's case, that surprise cut accounts for more than half of the $182,000 the township would lose under the draft proposal.

That rough $100,000 sounds like a small additional cut on top of hundreds of others, during a year in which municipal aid was cut by hundreds of millions of dollars - but when it comes to those energy-tax receipts, municipalities such as Buena Vista already hold something of a grudge.

To make up for the lost taxable land that was filled with pylons and other infrastructure, the companies paid the municipalities a fee. And in the 1980s, the utilities pressured the state government to start administering that money.

"Since then, the state has been able to dip into that fund, diverting it to the general fund to help with the budget," said Chiarello, a Democrat who also serves as vice president of the state League of Municipalities.

When it comes to that kind of tax releief, Chiarello said, "It seems we're never given all of it these days."

On the campaign trail ahead of last November's election, Christie described the state's past practice of using earmarked money for something other than its promised purpose as "raiding."

So why, Chiarello asks, did a roomful of mayors receive a promise Monday, only to see it broken Tuesday?

On Friday, Chiarello attended a meeting of staff from 100 New Jersey municipalities. Also in attendance was Rich Bagger, Christie's chief of staff.

"I was asking a few tough questions," Chiarello said. "But I got only a short answer, and it's not clear to me why it happened."

Officials from the Governor's Office and the state Department of Community Affairs could not be reached for coment Friday.

Richland Volunteer Fire Company is hoping that their new firehouse will be completed within a year.

Buena Vista will have to cut roughly $180,000 to get their budge under the 4 percent that is Governor Christie's plan.

Figures released Thursday show that state aid to area municipalities will be cut by $14.5 million in fiscal 2011, prompting mayors to say they likely will have to lay off workers.

Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed statewide spending reduction plan has 65 towns across Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Ocean counties facing an average cut of 14 percent in state funds that help prop up local budgets and reduce property taxes. But some towns will bear more of the proposed burden. Vineland in Cumberland County and Atlantic City in Atlantic County will lose more than $1 million each in municipal aid.

Growth towns in Atlantic County, such as Hamilton Township, Galloway Township and Egg Harbor Township, and rural cities in Cumberland County, including Vineland, Millville and Bridgeton, dominate the list of worst-hit areas in this region.

Many local leaders said Thursday that the figures fell below the threshold that allowed towns to keep all public workers. Galloway may face the largest cut by percentage, with 24 percent less aid than it received last year. The township has already laid off two police officers and five government staff members in recent weeks.

Egg Harbor Township Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough said he anticipated the cuts, and he thought that growth communities such as his and Galloway Township “are getting hammered.” McCullough said the challenge for all schools and municipalities is to “turn it around and reduce the costs of municipal operations.”

Barnegat Township Administrator Dave Breeden said the cut in state aid to his town — 21 percent — represents about one cent on the township’s tax rate.

“With our snow removal costs for this year up around a half-million dollars and our state aid being cut by $275,000, we’re already starting off in a very difficult situation,” Breeden said. “What we’re going to have to do is craft a budget that minimizes the financial impact on residents while finding a way to keep the level of services to the community at an acceptable level.”

“I think we have to take a look at our organization and personnel structure,” he said. “We could have to reduce our staffing through attrition, furloughs or separation. We’re hoping we’ll be able to do it through attrition.”

Budget constraints prompted Hammonton to lay off four office workers last year. Mayor Steve DiDonato said layoffs are imminent again with a 20 percent projected cut in state aid this year — roughly $326,000.

“That is definitely much worse that we anticipated,” DiDonato said. “There is no way for us to close the gap for our budget without layoffs. I feel for all of the people this could possibly affect, but we have to remember that there are a lot of people out there who can’t afford to pay additional taxes. We have to do what is necessary to cut our budget down.”

The Christie administration had delayed releasing the figures for a day, taking time to review them. Many local officials said they had anxiety as they waited for the numbers from the Department of Community Affairs, following Christie’s budget address to the joint legislature Tuesday.

In that address, Christie, a Republican, outlined his $29.3 billion budget proposal, which tries to close a $10.7 billion deficit. His plan will now be sent to the Legislature.

Christie called for “shared sacrifice” from towns, school districts and public workers’ unions, to match the reduction in the state’s revenue. He announced that state aid would be cut by $271.4 million to a new total of about $1.3 billion.

“For two days, this has been all we mayors have worried about,” said Chuck Chiarello, mayor of Buena Vista Township in Atlantic County and vice-president of the state’s League of Municipalities.

His town, which laid off two workers and eliminated another job by attrition in December, had planned for $150,000 in budget reductions to offset anticipated state aid cuts. But on Thursday night, Chiarello said that the township’s proposed aid reduction, which shrinks the overall town budget by $182,000, also reduces the amount by which the town’s budget can grow. The state mandates a 4 percent levy cap on all towns, with few exceptions.

“These cuts send us over that budget cap,” Chiarello said. “To get our budget down below that acceptable cap, we will have to start from scratch, and find new ways to cut.”

Lower Township Mayor Mike Beck said his municipality also might have to cut jobs after learning it would be receiving nearly $400,000 less state aid than it did last year.

“It’s too early to tell, but it’s not something we’re going to do unless our back’s against the wall,” he said. “We’re not out to take the jobs of people.”

Beck said the township did not fill a few positions that were vacated in 2009, which could help to offset the cuts this year.

“It’s about time. Someone had to step up like this, with enough courage to take the bull by the horns and change the way we do business,” Beck said. “It is long overdue.”

TRENTON — Leaders of towns and cities around New Jersey predicted layoffs and sharp cuts to public services after Gov. Chris Christie detailed today where he will slice $275 million from state aid.

Townships in Sussex, Burlington and Passaic counties will have their aid cut by the largest percentages. But the state’s cities — Newark, Jersey City, Camden and Trenton — are getting hit with the biggest reductions in raw dollars. Newark, for example is expected to lose $15.4 million, a 14.4 percent cut.

“Governor Christie and I recognize that municipal governments are facing decreased revenue and fewer resources in this tough economy, but, as the governor has stated, difficult times call for shared sacrifice,” acting Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Lori Grifa said.

“We are also encouraging local governments to conduct the same rigorous reviews of services and programs that Gov. Christie is performing at the state level.”

Today’s announcement shows how the state will distribute $1.3 billion, a 17.4 percent drop from last year, in “standard aid” to municipalities — a combination of funds allocated through a state formula and revenue from utility taxes.

Christie also wants to slice another $174.5 million in other forms of state aid to municipalities, bringing the total cut to almost $450 million, a 23 percent drop.

All levels of government have been reeling since Tuesday, when Christie proposed a $29.3 billion budget that also calls for cutting $820 million in aid to schools.

“Mayors, generally speaking, are in shock at the magnitude of the cuts,” said New Jersey League of Municipalities Executive Director William Dressel.

Elizabeth will get a $5 million cut in standard aid, just over 2 percent of its $210 million budget. It’s worse than expected, Mayor J. Christian Bollwage said. He said they will discuss layoffs or benefit reductions with emergency service workers. “It’s a really difficult pill to swallow,” Bollwage said. “Governor Christie has attacked the middle class.”

New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill said a 14.4 percent cut to his city’s state aid leaves an unsavory choice. “It’s either cut $2.3 million, or raise taxes $200 (per average homeowner),” he said. “Neither option is good.”

Buena Vista Township, a South Jersey town of 8,000, started making cuts last year.

Anticipating a cut of 15 percent from its $907,000 state aid payment, the town laid off two of its 10 public works employees, cut mileage allowances and reduced budgets for seminars. But the township will actually lose 20 percent. “Right now, I’m truly kind of blown away by it,” said Mayor Chuck Chiarello. “It’s a stab in the heart.”

Christie promises to provide towns with a “tool kit” to lower costs, such as giving them an upper hand in union negotiations. But Dressel said that won’t help if the new laws aren’t passed before the cuts take effect. Otherwise, he said residents could see service reductions and massive layoffs, including police and firefighters.

The governor has not yet revealed the criteria for distributing aid traditionally sent to several of the state’s largest and poorest cities. That aid — split into three categories called special, extraordinary and capital city aid — would be cut by 27 percent and combined into a new $159 million fund called transitional aid.

Sales tax reductions intended to spur economic growth in urban areas may also be eliminated, for $87.6 million in savings. The Christie administration also wants to withhold aid payments in December if municipalities don’t adhere to “best practices,” such as preventing conflicts of interest and promoting fair procurement practices.

The state agency that oversees utility companies and electric rates plans to slash nearly $100 million in clean-energy programs this year, including "cool cities" grants and assistance to manufacturers.

The Board of Public Utilities trimmed $97 million from its $555 million budget to comply with Gov. Chris Christie's executive order declaring a fiscal state of emergency.

The state wanted the BPU to eliminate $158 million from the Clean Energy Trust Fund. But the agency applied $62 million in surplus from 2009 to meet part of the 2010 shortfall.

The budget calls for 33 percent cuts in rebates to builders who use energy-efficient materials, 23 percent cuts to rebates for energy-efficient products and 22 percent cuts to audits that help municipalities identify potential energy savings.

"You're trying to build a market for these things - a wind market, a solar market," said Matt Elliott, a clean-energy advocate for Environment New Jersey.

"The $158 million spent on clean energy supports 6,000 clean-energy jobs and creates $1 billion in private investment or energy savings," he said.

The numbers are based on studies suggesting that $1 invested in energy efficiency leads to $3 in long-term savings for homeowners and as much as $11 for big businesses, he said.

Elliott was critical of cuts to incentives and grants for solar energy, which typically takes a greater initial investment by homeowners or businesses. Unlike most other state agencies that are funded through property taxes, the BPU is funded through utility rates that customers pay.

The agency's programs that sponsor energy efficiency are responsible in part for New Jersey's declining demand for electricity, he said. And this postpones the need to build pricy new power plants or additional transmission lines, he said.

"But because of the state's energy-efficiency program, we're reducing demand by a half-percent per year," he said. "While most of the decrease is due to the economy, when you look at energy-efficiency retrofits, it results in permanent decrease in demand."

Elliott said the state cuts come at a time when President Barack Obama is investing unprecedented spending in alternative energy and could jeopardize chances for local residents and businesses to capitalize on federal subsidies.

BPU spokesman Gregory Reinert said the budget news was not all bad. The agency beefed up rebates for its popular Energy Star program by $8 million this year.

"We're going to be able to fund as many projects as we did last year. But we re-established the amounts of the rebates," he said.

Governor Chris Christie budget address on Tuesday proposed cutting state aid by $445 million.

Southern New Jersey legislators and officials said a 100-page budget summary released by Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday contained few details about budget cuts and left many questions unanswered.

“It’s vague,” said state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, as he looked for details regarding several local priorities, such as the state’s Shore Protection Fund for beach restoration.

The fund, created with an annual $25 million appropriation from state real-estate transfer fees, was used by Gov. Jon S. Corzine in the past two years to help fill budget shortfalls. “This has been raided twice, for a total of $15 million,” Van Drew said. “We want to know today where it stands.”

While locals had questions about specifics — the detailed budget plan has yet to be released — Christie focused on the big picture.

Christie proposed deep cuts across the board to state government departments, massive aid cuts for school districts and towns, and proposed changing the property-tax rebate to a credit system to help close a $10.7 billion fiscal 2011 budget gap.

Ken Calemmo, chairman of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber, said the chamber supports “the bold and decisive course of action that Gov. Christie mapped out to deal with the state’s budget crisis.” He said the state’s culture of irresponsible spending must end.

Assemblyman Vincent Polistina, R-Atlantic, said fellow Republicans had not seen much advance data on what the budget contained.

“It was about as much of a surprise to us as it was to anybody,” Polistina said. “We were happy to see increased funding for hospitals, especially charity care. But as for the other cuts, I think it’s necessary to go ahead with these tough choices.”

State Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, a teacher, said he was left with questions, mainly about the proposals concerning funding for school districts.

State funds to schools will actually increase by $70 million next year, to nearly $8 billion. But the lack of federal stimulus funds for next year means school districts will still lose $820 million in funds they received this year. School districts have also lost $476 million Christie cut from this year’s state aid.

State aid figures for individual districts will be released today. Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said the state plans to redistribute funds to get money to districts that have been chronically underfunded because aid had not kept up with enrollment growth. However, districts that have lost enrollment could also see a greater decrease in their state aid.

Overall, no district is expected to lose more in formula aid than 5 percent of its budget. Schundler said the average is about 4 percent.

Whelan said his concern was how that distribution might work in a district such as Pleasantville.

“That district relies on state aid — and they’d lose not just aid, but 5 percent of their budget?” he asked. “We’re way past the point where we’re cutting fat here.”

Christie also proposed legislation that would limit wage and benefit increases in teacher contracts as a cost-control method for school districts, and would require teachers to pay a share of their health benefits. Schundler said if they could get that passed by Aug. 1, some veteran teachers may choose to take early retirement, which could free up funds for schools.

Local school administrators are meeting at Richard Stockton College today, and state aid is expected to be among the topics.

State operating aid to colleges will also be cut about 15 percent, as will some student aid and scholarship program funding. There will be no NJ STARS community college scholarships for this year’s high school graduating class, although current STARS students will be funded.

Stockton President Herman J. Saatkamp Jr. said he understands the state’s funding problems, but he is concerned about the consequences of continued aid cuts on college access and affordability. He said aid to colleges has been cut in seven of the past 10 years, and is now at about the same level it was in 1994.

Christie also targeted the Department of Agriculture, which was nearly abolished under Corzine, for cuts of 24 percent next year. Polistina said the savings would come from reducing state money to reimburse schools for participating in the school lunch program. “They cut back to the minimum where they’re still able to get federal matching funds,” he said.

Likewise, Christie proposed cutting Department of Corrections funds that pay for shift overlap among corrections officers, and money for county jails to take state inmates. The change could affect workers at the Bayside, Southern State and South Woods prisons in Cumberland County.

Local mayors said they felt they had no choice but to go along with the proposals for cutting state aid and capping local spending at 2.5 percent — even though municipalities won’t learn how hard they will be hit until today, when municipal aid numbers are also released.

The proposed spending cap would be painful, said Vineland Mayor Robert Romano. “I’ll have to ask for concessions from the unions, or look at furlough days and the rest of it. But I feel I have no choice because everyone knows it’s a terrible financial situation.”

One, said Assemblyman Nelson Albano, was that the budget process allowed for compromise. The Legislature can amend Christie’s proposal. “I would be completely shocked if the budget passed as it is,” said Albano, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.

And Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said his uncertainty would be resolved once the Department of Community Affairs released town-by-town breakdowns of municipal aid.

“If there’s a bright spot we can shine here,” he said, “it’s that the governor says he wants to reward towns who spend wisely. If that’s the future, it’s worth today’s pain.”

Gov. Chris Christie declared a statewide state of emergency Sunday night as nearly a thousand Atlantic County residents remained without power and 385 Atlantic City residents were unable to return to their homes a day after heavy wind and rain pounded the region.

Those who remained without electricity could be in the dark until today or Tuesday, depending on their locations, a spokesman for Atlantic City Electric said. Atlantic County residents are at the top of the list with 677 users out of service as of 8:30 a.m. Monday, mostly in Atlantic County.

About 700 Bound Brook residents were staying in shelters Sunday after the Somerset County community ordered some mandatory evacuations due to the rising level of the Raritan River. Evacuations were also occurring in several Middlesex and Bergen County municipalities.

Meanwhile, Atlantic City tried to recover from the beating it took from wind that gusted as fast as 70 mph in some areas. City Emergency Services Chief Tom Foley estimated the damage could top $1 million and may reach $2 million.

And a broken crane at the Revel Entertainment construction site continued to raise safety issues Sunday and left 385 people out of their homes at the three residential complexes near the property.

“The key to the whole operation is removing the counterweights,” Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis said. “Once those are off, everyone will breathe easier.”

The remaining crane — which has been deemed safe — will be used in that work. But movement was hampered by the weather. Although the wind died down Sunday, fog caused visibility problems. The property likely still will not be secure until this morning, with residents allowed to return sometime Tuesday, he said.

Residents were allowed to pick up belongings at the three buildings near Revel on Sunday but had to be escorted in and out, said city Assistant Business Administrator Domenic Cappella, who lives at the Bella condominium complex, one of the three affected, along with the Beachgate and Adelphia buildings. He said he is staying with family and was told he should be able to return home by Tuesday.

Some who needed help found that Revel paid for 25 rooms at The Chelsea hotel, said Daniel Hickson, of the American Red Cross. DeSanctis made no mention of that during a telephone interview.

Wind was not expected to pick up again, but scattered showers were likely into today, said Valerie Meola, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. She said most wind gusts in the region Saturday topped off at about 40 mph, but 67 mph gusts were reported at Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township, and 73 mph gusts were reported at Atlantic City’s Marina District.

Atlantic City Electric has called in crews from its sister company, Delmarva Power, to deal with 4,988 outages in a total of six counties caused by downed trees and high wind, spokesman Matt Likovich said.

“We had extensive damage to the system,” said Likovich, who expected the company to restore service to about 90 percent of its customers by midnight.

“If you live in downtown Atlantic City, you’re probably going to get your power on quicker than someone who lives on a farm,” he said. “It’s difficult, though, because you’re exerting the same amount of time to get one or two people back that you’re exerting to restore thousands of people.”

Likovich said crews traditionally focus first on anything that would affect public health and safety, but he did not have any specific details of problems in that area. Then, crews will tackle the areas that will restore electricity to the largest number of customers.

And as crews restore power, city officials are tallying up the cost of the storm.

“We had a tremendous amount of damage throughout the city,” Foley said. “It could run as high as over a million dollars. Maybe $2 million.”

Those costs include $40,000 to demolish 108 N. Indiana Ave., after wind damage caused the unoccupied home to lean into the house at 110. Seven residents there were temporarily displaced to ensure that structure was not compromised.

Meanwhile, Foley said, the forced evacuations provided a lesson. “I can’t stress enough to everyone out there how important it is that you have an emergency plan and an emergency kit,” Foley said.

“Situations like this happen very rapidly,” Foley said. “It’s very important to have an emergency kit under your bed or in your vehicle. You have to be prepared.”

Those with pets also should know where they can stay in an emergency, he said, adding that several people were forced to decide between leaving their pets or finding someplace to accommodate them, although some animal-friendly hotel rooms were available.

Fire Chief Dennis Brooks estimated bringing in off-duty personnel would add up to about $30,000. He hoped to have final numbers today.

The move was necessary, he stressed. “At one point, we had no firefighters in firehouses anywhere,” Brooks said. “They were all at scenes.”

Foley said additional overtime for a full shift of police and bringing in several members of the Public Works Department could mean a bill of about $100,000.

Atlantic City Emergency Services Chief Tom Foley said Saturday’s mass evacuations near the Revel Entertainment construction site illustrated the importance of being prepared. Ready.gov offers a list of what to include in an emergency kit.

Staff writers Michael Clark and Eric Scott Campbell contributed to this report.

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